Egos & Ids; It's Demi Vu All Over Again

By Degan Penner

Published: November 21, 1993

The recent ballyhoo over Demi Moore's third appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair in three years has obscured the fact that the monthly magazine has also managed to publish three full-length feature articles on the 31-year-old actress.

The first, in the August 1991 issue, was written by Nancy Collins and featured Ms. Moore naked and pregnant on the cover. In August 1992, Ms. Moore was shown on the cover with a trompe l'oeil men's suit painted on her body; inside was an article by Jennet Conant. The most recent story, in the December 1993 issue, is by Leslie Bennetts; the cover shows the actress, actually dressed, sitting on the lap of David Letterman, who's disguised as Santa Claus.

What new could be said of Ms. Moore each time?

A careful reading of the three articles reveals these things:

* Many people realized that Ms. Moore's fame was predestined. In 1991, Craig Baumgarten, a producer, told Ms. Collins, "I knew from the very, very beginning Demi was going to be a movie star." A year later, the producer Joel Silver told Ms. Conant that "everyone knew it was going to happen for her." And in the new feature, Ms. Bennetts quoted an unnamed producer as saying, "You could tell she had it."

* Ms. Moore has two favorite restaurants: The Ivy, in Los Angeles, and its sister establishment, Ivy at the Shore, in Santa Monica, Calif. Ms. Moore had dinner with Ms. Conant at the former and lunch with Ms. Bennetts at the latter. She consumed food from both in Ms. Collins's presence (once was takout).

* Vanity Fair is not averse to self-congratulation. Ms. Conant called Ms. Moore's first appearance on the magazine's cover "the shot that was seen round the world." About the second cover, Ms. Bennetts wrote, "Once again, of course, it was also a brilliant career move: what a way to announce that you're back in business as a sex symbol!"

* Ms. Moore takes a no-nonsense, can-do approach to life, as her final thoughts in each article reveal. "Life isn't always easy, but it's simple," she said in 1991. A year later, she said: "I want good work. I want things to be the best they can be. I want greatness."

And her final thought (until the next Vanity Fair article, at least): "If I see it as possible, it is possible."